Sanding apparatus for locomotives.



No. 884,282.' y PATPNTPD APR. 7,-1908.

l A. o. MARTIN & o. A. HAHNPL.

SANDING APPARATUS P0P LoooMoTIvEs.

APPLICATION FILED AUG'. 17. 1907..

Il' lui I BY A TTUHIVEYS ABRAM O. MARTIN AND CARL A. HAHNEL, OF DENISON, TEXAS.

SANDING APPARATUS FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 7, 1908.

Application filed August 17, 1907. Serial No. 389,022.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ABRAM O. MARTIN and CARL A. HAHNEL, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Denison, in

the county of Grayson and State of Texas,-

n the track.

The urpose of the invention is to provide novel etalls of construction for an apparatus of the indicated character, which ada t the improved lsanding device for reliablfe service, revent clogging of the same with Wet san and furnish a coacting shut-off valve that enables the discharge of sand from the elevated sand holding box to be arrested when this is desired.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described and defined in the appended claims. 1

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a side view of the improved sanding apparatus arranged for service; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional side view of the improvement and ends of feed pipes connected therewith; Fig. 3 is an end view of a sand feeding device that is a feature of the invention, seen in direction of the arrow in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detached plan view of a shut-off valve that co-acts with the sand dispensing means, the plane of separation being'indicated by the line 4 4 in Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional detail View of parts of the sand dispenser, showing a preferred form for attaching an air pipe connection to the dispenser nozzle.

The body referably employed as a detail of the sand ispenser proper is in the form of a hollow casting, having four branches, 6, 6a, 6b, 6C, that are arranged oppositely in pairs, that is to say, the branches 6 and 6C are axially alined in a vertical plane, and the branches 6a, 6b, are axially coincident in a plane at right-angles with the axis of the branches first mentioned.

The branch 6 is internally threaded and receives the threaded end of a pipe 7, that is shown broken away but in complete condition extends to a sand holder not shown, usually located on the boiler ofa locomotive.

The branch 6c is shown as formed with an integral flat-cap-plate 8 on its lower end, which fits upon and marginally corresponds with the side walls of a valve-case 9, whereon the cap-plate is removably secured by bolts c, as s own in Figs. 1 and 2.

Upon the case 9 a tubular socket 9a is formed that is alined with the branch 6C, and is threaded internally for reception of a discharge pipe l0 which will hereinafter be further described. In the case 9 is slidably fitted a gate-valve 11, that is furnished with a valve-stem lla at one end, said stem being projected through a stuffing-box b at one end of the valvecase,'and thence is extended a suitable length toward the cab of the locomotive having the improvement, and may terminate in a lever .1lb or other equivalent means for sliding the gate-valve from the interior of the engine cab, as occasion may require.

The gate-valve 11 is circularly apertured as at c near the inner end thereof, said aperture being equal in diameter to that of the branch 6C, whereby sand fed down throu h the sand-pipe 7 will pass freely through t e gate-valve l1 when it is adjusted as shown in Fig. 2, and when the valve is slid completely Within the case it will cut Voif the How of sand and seal the pipe 7.

It may here be explained that it is also feasible to place the valve which has been described, in the pipe 7, above the horizontal branches 6a, 6b, and thus adapt it for a closure of said pipe and arrest of the iiow of sand for a purpose that will be hereinafter set forth.

The invention principally consists in the novel construction of a sand dispensing device that is constructed as follows:

In the interiorly threaded branch 6a, a plug 6d is screwed, it being peripherally threaded near its outer end, the latter terminating in a radial flange d that is impinged upon the true end of the branch named.

this concavity receiving the convexed end ofan air conveyer pipe 6e, whereon the cap-nut is fitted, the latter bearing upon a radial flange e2 that is formed on the end of the airpipe. It will be obvious that if the joint between the concave and convex surfaces on the nipple e andl end of the pipe 6e are ground to ether, or a thin washer of suitable materia is introduced therebetween, a proper clamping adjustment of the cap-nut e will secure the air pipe 6e on the plug 6d in an air tight condition.

At a suitable distance from the flange e2 the body of the plug 6d is reduced and tapered slightly toward the inner end thereof, said end portion f being laterally flattened and the lower wall thereof cut away to produce a slot thereat, as appears at g in Fig. 2. Upon the lower side of the lug, forward of the slot g, the wall of the p ug is sloped toward said slot and affords a seat Whereon a thin resilient tongue plate 6h is secured at the forward end thereof. The tongue plate 6h fits neatly in the slot g land has slightly pressure at its free end upon the upper wall of the plug at its inner extremity which said tongue plate normally closes, but is vibrated more or less so as to open an air passage by air pressure introduced through the pipe 6e. In the branch 6b, a by-pass pipe 12 is secured by one end thereof, and as shown in Fig. 1 is bent downward and toward the pipe 10, the lower ends of said pipes being connected by a T-iitting 12a.

To facilitate the connection of the pipes 10 and 12, there is a polygonal formation given to the exterior of the socket 9a, to enable the use of a wrench, the valve case 9 being free from the branch 6C when said connection of partsis being made.

When the sand is dry and the dispenser device is to be used, the gate valve 11 is closed and an air jet is passed through the air pipe 6e, and it is to be understood that suitable means is to be provided for control of the force of the air jet. Sand is now fed down the supply pipe 7 and is met by the thin air jet that passes through the inner end of the nozzle plug 6, the spring tongue 6h yielding so as to permit a proper volume of air to pass it. The air and sand together pass down the bypass pipe 12 and thence into a conductor pipe 12b, that extends from the T-fitting 12EL to a point for discharge of the sand, usually just forward of the tread of the driving wheel said device is to supply with sand.

It will be seen that the quantity of sand fed may be accurately controlled, and in case of any impediment, such as wet sand being passed down the pipe 7, it will usually drop past the nozzle 6d and lodge on the valve gate 11, which at times may be opened to permit such accumulations to escape down the conductor pipe by gravity. It, from any cause, the sand passed down the lpipe 7 is not perfectly dry, that is essentia for a free movement, the air pressure through the pipe 6e should be increased, which will force the sand down the by pass pipe 12 in increased amount. When sand in a greater amount is required for preventing the slipping of the locomotive wheels, the gate valve 11 may be partially or completely o ened, and thus permit a direct passage o more or less sand down through it, which will supplement the amount fed by the dis ensers device.

Having thus descri ed our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a sanding apparatus, the sand dispensing device, comprising a hollow body aving four branches disposed oppositely in pairs, one horizontal branch having an air jet nozzle plug therein, the plug having an air passage therethrough controlled by a resilient tongue plate, a sand conducting pipe extended from the opposite horizontal branch, a sand supplying pipe in an upright branch that feeds sand past the air jet nozzle plug, and another sand conducting pipe opposite the sand supplying pipe.

2. In a sanding apparatus, the sand disensing device, comprising a hollow body fiaving four branches disposed oppositely in pairs, the uppermost branch being connected to a sand supply pipe, a jet nozzle plug having an air passage therethrough, and a resilient tongue plate held to vibrate across said passage, means for supplying an air jet to said plug, a by-pass pipe extended from the branch that is opposite the air jet plug, and another sand conducting pipe in connection with the lowermost branch outlet.

8. In a sanding apparatus, the sand dispensing device, comprising a hollow body having inlet and outlet branches, a sand feeding pipe on one inlet branch, a sand conducting pipe on an outlet branch, an air jet nozzle plug on an inlet branch opposite the sand conducting pipe, said nozzle plug having an air passage therethrough', and a thin resilient tongue plate held at the discharge end of the nozzle plug diagonally across the air passage, and means for controlling the opening in the remaining branch.

4. In a sanding apparatus, the combination of a hollow body having four branches, a

sand supply pipe on one branch, a by-pass names to this specification in the presence of pipe on a second branch, a jet nozzle plug two subscribing witnesses.

adapted to blow an air jet across the sand fed ABRAM O. MARTIN.

into the hollow body and force the sand into CARL A.` HAHNEL. 5 the opposite by-pass pipe, means carried by Witnesses to/Abram O. Martin:

the jet nozzle for controlling the ilow of air D. H. MOORE,

therethrough, and a gate Valve for control# J. T. FOREMAN.

ling the downward passage in the remaining Witnesses to Carl A. Hahnel:

branch outlet. J. R. ELKIN,

10 In testimony whereof we have signed our GEO. R. MOODIE. 

